Whispering this in case I might jinx something, but the entire skyline out my west-facing office window is clear blue. I almost forgot what it looked like.

Got the lights charging at home. Night ride, here I come! Wonder how much of campus is still flooded?

Just something interesting . . .

The Sacramento Valley area is historically a giant seasonal flood plain flowing into a huge delta that is home to the world's farthest inland deep water port. West of Sacramento there is now an artifically controlled flood causeway with weirs that are opened to release water from the big rivers before they top their levees. "It's 40 miles long, nearly 10 miles wide in places, and covers roughly 59,000 acres." Just try to visualize how much water it takes to fill this thing in 24 hours. Well, it happened and there is quite a current flowing into the Delta, so there is continual outflow.

NY's Eve, they opened the weirs. In about 24 hours, the water rose from a few puddles to about 2 feet below the bridge deck. I wish I could find current photos for you all. Every morning I cross this long flat bridge (Interstate 80) over this awesome body of water. We have had massive damage in other areas of the state with incredible photos. Usually, we only see photos as rivers go over their banks and cause damage, but I find the causeway impressive because of its operation and how it protects us, not to mention the benefit it has been for fish and fowl. However, I have to say that if we get another storm with heavy rain and high winds, I'm staying home. The wind drives water across the bridge deck and the powers-that-be close the bridge. I could be stranded away from my puppydog as there only a few ways to get from Sacramento to Davis, and all require crossing the rivers or flood plains. Anyway, thought some of you might find this interesting.

http://www.watershedportal.org/news/news_html?ID=214